GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Saying the statistics are fairly positive, but the mood is turning significantly negative, a West Michigan economist has issued his latest Business Survey.
Dr. Brian Long, the Director of Supply Chain Management Research at Grand Valley State University, says short term business confidence is still marginally positive, but well below the reading of 14 months ago.
Long says it is West Michigan automotive parts suppliers that continue to keep local statistics fairly positive, and if we do slide into a recession, there will still be plenty of order backlog in the automotive market to keep the auto parts suppliers running for a long time.
Some of comments from June survey business participants include “Results are similar to last month, but we’re seeing storm clouds forming on the horizon,”; “Sales are softening a bit. We’re still doing well, but there appears to be some headwinds in the future.”; “A recession is coming,” and “Things are looking better, but very fragile.”
